How to Achieve the Impossible

Abstract

This paper describes a multiple team working experiment, involving staff and students of the Product Design Programme (PDP) at the University Wales Institute Cardiff, collaborating with The National Centre for Product Design Research (PDR) and Alloy Product Design. The aim of the experiment was to design and prototype an interactive information appliance within a 24-hour time frame.

This paper explains how, through flexible multi- interdisciplinary team working, professionals from different organisations were able to collaborate successfully to fulfil the requirements of a product design brief from initial briefing document through creative problem solving activities to the full design and prototyping of and interactive information appliance.

The paper also explains two methodologies recently developed at UWIC for rapid product design prototyping and the prototyping of digital user interfaces. Both methodologies were integrated into a team based rapid product development process which ensured an enhanced level of co-ordination and co-operation between the teams designing the product functionality, the digital user interface and the interactive working prototype.

To conclude the paper describes the advantages of the two design methodologies developed at UWIC and demonstrate how they can be used by collaborating multiple interdisciplinary teams to design and prototype an interactive information appliance within the unprecedented short time of 24 hours.